


A girl, a singer and a cat meet in an alley

by Lims



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged Up, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Romance, Slooooow burn, Slow Burn, Toxic People, all characters are 17+, mental health, no more tags cause I don't want to spoil anything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23104129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lims/pseuds/Lims
Summary: [UNFINISHED]Marinette finally confesses to Adrien.He does not feel the same for her.Heartbroken, she decides to finally get over him. While Alya still tries to get her ship sailing, some other people just try to get Marinette back on her feet again.A story about broken hearts, mixed feelings and every kind of relationship status ensues.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 17
Kudos: 37





	1. The Incident

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!  
> This is my first longer Miraculous story and hopefully the first longer story that I actually finish. (You can check out my Felinette OS after you read this ;)  
> I've worked on this idea for a while and now I am finally able to publish the first chapter.
> 
> Before I get started, a few disclaimers:  
> I don't own the "Miraculous" characters or world, only the story is my own.  
> English is only my second language, so if you find any major mistakes, please point them out kindly. I will ignore every comment that isn't criticism but only insulting me and my work.  
> I started this story before season 3 aired and only got around to publish this now. Some characters have changed since or appeared more often on the show.  
> I don't intend to bash any character or ship, this is just for entertainement's sake.  
> I'm currently a university student so I can't promise a regular upload schedule, but I will try to publish a new chapter every other week.
> 
> That's all for now, I hope you enjoy this story!

"Are you done, Marinette?" Alya spun around in her friend's chair, waiting impatiently for her friend to be ready. Marinette looked at herself in the mirror, not yet satisfied with how she looked. "I don't know..." Alya sighed and got out of her chair. "Sweety, I really love you, but if we want to enjoy the party, we really need to get going." Now Marinette was the one who sighed "You are right...." she flattened out her pink dress "I'm just not sure."

Marinette grabbed her handbag and turned to her friend. Alya also corrected the fit of her jumpsuit.  
_We kind of look like we are going to our prom...._

Marinette wanted to go down the stairs but she was stopped by her friend. "Wait, you can't go without your present!" Marinette quickly jumped to her desk to grab her present. "Really, Marinette, what would you do without me? You put so much work into this shirt and you wanted to go without it. Imagine what would have happened if you went to Adrien's birthday and without a present, what would he think...."  
"I would have figured out something..."  
"We both know that you can't think straight when you have to talk to him." Alya smirked at her friend and went downstairs.

Marinette's crush on her classmate had develop into some kind of love over the past few years. But during the last summer break it got even stronger. Her whole class (except for Chloe and Sabrina) spent some time together. They went swimming a few times and only there Marinette had realised how much all of them had grown.  
Both mentally and physically.  
She didn't just realise this change by looking at her crush, specifically, but also by the way her daydreams turned into a new direction...

Marinette's toughts were interrupted by Alya pinching her arm "We're at the party."  
To their surprise the gates of the Agreste mansion were wide open. Gabriel Agreste wasn't known for being a very social person but for his son's 18th birthday he seemed to make an exception. At least a small one, the gates were still guarded by personel that checked the guests' invitations.

Alya looked at Marinette through her glasses "You ready?"  
"I think so...." Alya raised an eyebrow "Uhh...I'm ready, yes! I'm finally confessing to Adrien tonight!" She stood up straighter to underline her attitude. Alya seemed satisfied with Marinette's answer and handed their invitations to the guard "Then let's do this!"

The court in front of the mansion was filled with teens dancing to the loud music. You couldn't make out a single person in the big mass of guestes. Even as far away from the music as they were it was hard to talk. "Can we say hello to Nino first?" Alya shouted into Marinette's ear. No one had been surprised that Adrien had asked his best friend to DJ for him even though he could easily afford to hire a professional. Because of the loud music Marinette only nodded for an answer.

The girls started to fight their way through the mass of people. When they arraived at the DJ's desk Marinette took a deep breath. She never really felt comfortable in big crowds so she hoped, that she wouldn't have to spend too much time dancing.

_Except maybe if Adrien asks me to dance..._

She zoned out until Nino talked to her "You, dudette, did you make this dress yourself, too?" he gave her an impressed look "You really are getting better every time!" Alya rolled her eyes  
"Duh, she always make special clothes like this one herself, you know that" she put her hands on her hips "She made something for Adrien again, too, it just took ...."  
Marinette interrupted her friend "Yes, Nino, thanks for the compliment!"  
She took Alyas hand and dragged her away from her boyfriend. "Hey, what's that about?" Alya complained.  
"You can't just tell Nino what I made for Adrien. And you especially can't tell him how long it took me! He will tell Adrien, and then Adrien will think that I am crazy!"  
Alya crossed her arms and looked at her friend "Didn't you want to tell Adrien that you love him tonight?"

Marinette gave her a confused look "That's...that's not the point! I just don't want him to think bad of me!"  
"Okay just....did you write him a letter, like I told you to?"  
"Yes" "Did you sign it this time?" Alya asked to prevent another failed attempt.  
"Okay, so there wont be a problem, right?" Marinette nodded. "You give him his present, he reads the letter and admits his undying love for you, you live happily ever after"

Marinette still tried to prevent her embarrassment "But Alya, what if he doesn't like my present? What if he actually doesn't like me? Maybe he is just nice to me out of pity!" "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I have now watched you swoon over this boy for four years" she gave Marinette a stern look "And you never came even close to telling him. Tonight's the night it's going to happen or I might just go crazy. But we, now, YOU need to know what you're working with, okay?

Without waiting for a reaction Alya turned around and took Marinette with her.

Adrien was just talking to Ivan when he saw two of his classmates walking towards him. "Happy 18th Birthday, Adrien!" Alya exclaimed while hugging him. "Thanks, Alya"  
Marinette turned read again "Happy Birthday, A-Adrien" She handed him his present. He gave her a startled look and then hugged her, too.  
"It's cool that you both came, now all my friends are here!" "Did you really think that anyone would want to miss the 18th birthday of Paris' most popular model who was never allowed to do anything like this before?"  
Alya dramatically clenched her hands in front of her chest "Even though we have tried for years to make this happen you think that badly of us..."

Even though she still was incredibly nervous Marinette began to laugh and the other two joined in.  
"Now, we can't forget the important bit: birthday presents for the birthday boy" Alya gave Adrien an envelope. Adrien took it while still laughing and put it on a table that already supported a huge mass of other presents.  
"Don't you want to open it?" Alya gave him a disappointed look "I mean that's the best part, we get to know if you like it" Marinette took that as her mark to secretly vanish but Alya had a good grip on her so it was impossible.

Adrien, too, knew that it was impossible to argue with Alya so he just opened her present. He began to chuckle when he saw all the funny snapshots and pictures Alya had gathered from the class. She had pestered everyone for weeks to give her their best pictures so that Adrien could have a "nice memory of school and pictures where he isn't paid to smile".  
Adrien seemed to be especially excited about a picture with him and Nino doing silly faces "Thanks, Alya, this is great!"

Then he took Marinette's present.

_Please, like it, please......_

She had struggled with figuring out what to give him this year. It WAS his 18th birthday, so she wanted her present to be special. She had bothered her friends with hundreds of ideas until they nearly stopped talking to her. In the end she had decided to sew a nice blue dress shirt that would go together well with the scarf she gave Adrien a few years ago.

"Did you make this yourself, Marinette?" he examined the shirt closely. She wasn't sure if she could talk, so she just nodded.  
He seemed to be impressed by her work "That's very cool, thanks, Marinette." Then Adrien started to open her envelope. He started to read the letter with an excited smile. Adrien's expression quickly started to change, his smile slowly vanished and his cheeks turned red.

Adrien cleared his throat and folded the letter back together "Uhm.....you know..." Alya took her best friend's hand, already anticipating the worst for some reason.  
"I really don't know how to say this....your letter is really cute?" he swallowed hard "but, well, uhm I actually like a ....I like another girl, so..." Alya felt cold sweat in Marinette's palm and saw how the girl trembled.  
Adrien, oblivous as ever, continued "So I ...I don't feel the same for you Marinette, I'm sorry." he still fidgeted with the letter in his hands.  
Marinette eyes filled with tears.  
Then she turned around and left without another word.

Alya was torn for a second on who to help, she saw that Adrien was nearly as devastated as Marinette, but she also pressured Marinette into confessing. Her decision was taken from her when a blonde girl approached Adrien.

"Adrikins, why aren't you dancing, it's your birthday?" Chloé asked the boy. "I'm not feeling like dancing right now.." "Come on, have a little fun tonight!" Alya stepped in because she still wanted to talk to him (and maybe rescue him from Chloé). "Leave him alone, Chloé, he already told you that he doesn't want to dance"  
Chloé gave Alya a condescending look "And who do you think you are again, Ginger?" A switch in Alya's mind was turned on and she forget what she originally wanted to do...

Marinette's biggest nightmare had just become her cruel reality.  
She went all in and confessed to Adrien Agreste. She had included everything she wanted to tell him in her letter.  
But he didn't feel the same.  
He loved another girl.

But not Marinette.

She tried to make her way through the people with tears in her eye. She found a calm corner and sank to the ground.  
The music was way too loud and the ground was cold under her legs but Marinette couldn't care less.

_He doesn't love me....he doesn't love me....he doesn't love me..._

She took a deep breath and tried to get rid of the bad thoughts. She tried to think of something else.  
Just something different. But she couldn't think of something else.  
Something deep inside her hurt and she could not get rid of it.  
Her heart, her head, her stomach, everything hurt.

Marinette couldn't tell if the beat in her chest came from the loud bass or the echo of Adrien's words.  
She just sat on the ground for a while until a soft voice spoke to her.

"Is everything alright, Marinette?"  
She looked up and met Juleka's concerned face "No" she sobbed. She tried to wipe away her tears but there were more coming.  
Juleka offered her a paper tissue "You want to tell me what's going on?" Marinette wiped her nose very thoroughly to avoid answering.

„Juleka, there you are!" Rose tried to fight her way through a group of drunk dancers but had a hard time because of her height. "I was searching all over for you, you can't just leave me like that!" she gave her girlfriend an upset look.  
"Sorry" answered Juleka.

Marinette continued sobbing and had to blow her nose again. "Oh, what's going on?" asked Rose now. Both girls were now waiting for an answer from Marinette.  
Marinette wiped her puffy eyes.  
She didn't even blush for once "I...I told Adrien about m-my feelings...a-and..." The rest of the sentence got lost in sobs but the other girls could guess what had happened.

„He doesn't love you back?" Rose looked seriously shocked when Marinette nodded.  
This was an unexpected turn after all the years of trying to get Marinette and Adrien together. All the girls and most guys had thought that Adrien and Marinette had mutual feelings for each other and were just to shy to admit them.

But Marinette's tears accounted for another story. So the girls tried to cheer her up a bit. Rose went to get some drinks, while Juleka and Marinette just stayed in their corner. The girls promised Marinette that they would stay until she was feeling better.

They thought that they had been successful until they realised that Marinette wasn't exactly better but that she was just tipsy. Rose had confused the juice with a strong cocktail.

„I-i-I don' min' if he gets together with that bish" Marinette angrily mumbled.  
Juleka shook her head „I think you need some sleep" That confused drunk Marinette "Where am I sposed to sleep?"  
„At home" was Juleka's simple answer. This was still to complicated for Marinette's brain so Juleka decided to take the initiative.  
She grabbed Marinette and slowly started to guide her towards the gate. She also tried her best to ignore Marinette's incoherent drunk mumbling.

The silence and the cold air of the night helped to sober up Marinette a bit. When they arrived at the bakery she was able to convince her friends that she could get into bed on her own.  
Her friends didn't believe her 100% and still were concerned about Marinette's well-being but in the end they let her go on her own.

Tikki happily greeted Marinette as she stepped into her room but Marinette waved her off. She got out of her dress and went to bed without actually talking to Tikki.

_There's enough time to talk tomorrow_


	2. Cruel Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette realises what had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> This is chapter 2 with the aftermath of the party.  
> I hope you enjoy it!

Sunday, XX.08.20XX, 12:30pm flashed the letters on Alya's alarm clock.

Every other person would likely be awake by now but Marinette seemed to be the exception. Alya sighed and hung up her phone once again after letting it rign for a while. She threw her phone on her bed and took a sip of her cup of hot chocolate.  
After the events of the night before Alya really needed to talk to her friend. She felt like she had to apologise to Marinette, especially after not helping her immediately after the disaster.  
She took her phone and dialed Marinette's number again.  
For the 4th time.

The phone rang again without someone picking it up.

Alya was really concerned about Marinette's well-being. After this many years of crushing on one boy she quite literally got her heart crushed. Marinette wasn't the type of person who just lived to have a relationship but it still her confession didn't go the best way for someone as passionate as Marinette.  
Adrien had always been the perfect guy for Marinette: nice, polite caring and funny while also incredibly handsome and interested in similar things.

It was crazy.

Alya felt like she could have prevented Marinette's heartbreak if she hadn't insisted on her confessing to Adrien. She took another sip of her hot chocolate and then decided to write Juleka and Rose to thank them for helping Marinette to get home last night.  
She also apologized for not looking after Marinette herself. A few minutes earlier she had chatted with Nino to figure how Adrien was dealing with the whole thing.  
The only person she didn't talk to yet was Marinette.

Marinette was startled by a loud ringing noise. She looked up from her sewing and out of her window. She initially had thought her phone was riniging but the sound was way too loud and came from outside.  
The streets were filled with human-sized bells runnning around. They seemed to be running away from something...

_An Akuma!_

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette shouted. But nothing happened. Marinette searched around her room for her Kwami.  
Tikki was nowhere to be seen.  
She was helpless without her Kwami.

Suddenly the trap door to her room was opened. Her mother called Marinette "You need to get up, Marinette, you're phone has been ringing for a while now. It seems that someone really wants to talk to you!"  
Marinette fell out of her bed.  
"I guess you're awak now" her mother laughed.  
"Please pick up you're phone when you get up!" Marinette mumbled an answer and her mother went down the stairs again.

The girl got up and tried to shake off the horrifying dream she just had. She hoped that this case would never come true, she wouldn't know what to do without her Kwami.  
Seeing Tikki sleeping peacefully did not help Marinette get rid of her uneasiness.

She started getting ready for her day but still couldn't get rid of her gut rumbling. For a second she wondered why she felt like that until the previous night caught up to her.  
Even though the memories seemed like another bad nightmare she knew that this was cruel reality. 

Tikki woke up and saw Marinette sitting on her bed. She was hugging herself and staring at her wll. She now really wanted to ask her friend about the party but was interrupted by Marinette's phone.  
Without any visible reaction Marinette got up and went to search for her phone. She found her purse on her chaise and got her phone out.  
She didn't need to look at the Display to know who was that insistent on calling her.  
There was only one person who was that interested to literally squeeze everything out of her.

_Alya_

Her finger froze in motion.

_"Okay so there wont be a problem, right...."_

She started feeling sick again.

_"You give him his present, he reads the letter and....."_

She considered not answering the call for a second.

_"....and he admits his undying love for you...."_

Tears filled Marinette's eyes.

Tikki flew in closer. "Maybe you should answer that one, Marinette"

Marinette snapped back into reality when she haerd the deep concern in her Kwami's voice. She nodded and finally answered the call.

"Marinette?! Oh, thank god, you finally picked up your phone. I was so worried because I didn't see you again last night. I'm so so sorry for what happened, I really didn't think that it would go that way! How are you now?" Alya's voice changed from agitated to worried.

Marinette cleared her throat before she could answer. "I..uhm...I am fine I guess...."  
Lying had never been one of Marinettes's abilities and she knew that Alya wouldn't believe but she tried to talk her way out anyways.  
"Sweety, I know that last night was ...." Marinette interrupted her friend "No, really, it's totally fine! I mean..yo-you are not responsible for Adrien's feelings, right?"

_That is a bad excuse, even for you, Marinette!_

Alya sighed "I know that but I still shouldn't have left you alone for the rest of the night."  
Marinette had to admit that she hadn't really realised that up until now.  
She had been occupied with her heartbreak and kind of forget about her friend in the chaos that had ensued.  
She wanted to tell Alya that but Alya took Marinette's silence for anger and started to reason why that had happened.

"But I had a reason! I would never just leave you alone like that!" Alya started.  
Marinette knew that she wouldn't be able to stop her friend so she just listened. As far as she could follow her friends story Chloé had been the problem again. After 'the incident' Alya had wanted to talk to Adrien (for whatever reason) but Chloé had decided that it was time for Adrien to dance. Alya had intervened because he had clearly said he didn't want to dance. Chloé, apalled by a "rude lower-class" girl talking to her had started to insult Marinette and Alya.  
At that point Alya completely snapped and started to roast Chloé until she left.

Because of that, Adrien felt even worse and left everyone else to hide around Nino. Because of the fight with Chloé Alya forget about Marinette and tried to find her.  
Instead she revceived a message from Juleka about how she brought her home.  
"So, yeah, the whole party was kind of a disaster" Alya concluded her story.  
Marinette agreed "That's one way to call it. Thanks for you support, tho" Alya declined her thanks still talking about how she was responsible for 'the incident'.  
"Marinette, you really need to grow a spine and stop thanking me for ruining your evening."

Marinette felt a lot of negative things but none of them were actually because of her friend. Now that she knew that Adrien wasn't interested in her that way, this could have happened anytime. She tried to explain this to Alya but Alya still didn't believe her.  
"Girl, just be honest with yourself...." Then she changed the subject "You need to get mind off this! How about going to Kitty Section's Ultra Mecha Strike tournament? I know for a fact that Adrien wont be there and gaming will lift your spirits"

Alya knew her friend well enough to be sure that this was something she would love to do. Marinette was an expert at this game and even won most of the times when she had a handicap. A tournament like this would get Marinette back on track, for sure!  
Marinette, on the other hand, had to swallow the lump in her throat. She had been feeling fine enough but now that Alya had brought up Adrien specifically she felt like breaking down again.

"That sounds cool but I would rather stay by myself today."

"Are you sure?" Alya asked "Staying in you're room by yourself doesn't sound like it will help you cheer up" Marinette looked around her room and got what Alya meant.  
There were green eyes staring back at her again. She felt like someone punched her in the gut.

She took a deep breath "I'm sure, Alya"  
"Okay, but call me, if you need someone to talk to, okay?"  
"Thanks, Alya, see you tomorrow" Marinette ended the call.

Shortly after that her mother knocked again on her door "Marinette, maybe you should eat some breakfast".  
She didn't actually feel like eating and she still had the goa of staying in her room. But if she declined food her mom would start to ask if something was wrong and she didn't want to deal with that either.  
So Marinette followed her mother downstairs.

Marinette managed to answer her mom's questions about the party without going into too much detail. Luckily, Marinette was never really talkactive while eating breakfast, so her mom did'nt get suspicious about her short answers.  
After being forced to eat some more food, she went upstairs to her room again.

Marinette fell into her chair and stared at her wall.  
She wasn't sure why she was acting like that. Normally she would feel much better with talking to someone.  
The she decided that some distraction might help better her mood.  
She started her computer.

Then she felt like someone hat hit her in the gut again. A pair of bright green eyes looked at her.  
She froze for a moment.  
Tears started rolling down her cheeks.  
Sobs made her whole body shake when she started to cry.  
Turning away from the screen, she hugged herself.  
The tears blurred her view but she knew exactly what the pictures on her wall looked like.

The smiles she had always adored started to look like they were mocking Marinette.

She couldn't stand that thought. _Him_ mocking her.

Her sorrow mixed with a feeling of anger. She didn't know why she was angry, just that she _was_ angry.  
And she knew that she had to get rid of the pictures.

Marinette got out of her chair and ripped a photo off her wall. And then another. And another.

She went into a rampage and tried to get rid of _his_ smile in her room. She was still crying but that didn't stop her from ripping all the pictures and posters apart. She sank to the ground when everything was shredded. F  
eeling exhausted, she rubbed her swollen eyes.

She blinked a few times and saw the big chest next to her chaise, where she kept all her finished sewing projects. Having acquired a new traget she began to crawl towards the chest.  
At this point she didn't even bother to walk anymore. She just wanted to destroy everything connected to _him_.

Something red flew in front of her eyes. "Marinette, please stop, I'm worried about you..."  
"Tikki, leave me alone..."  
"If you continue like this, you might get akumatized!" Tikki now shouted.

Marinette knew someonewhere deep down that these words had a meaning and were importatn but she still felt her anger boiling.

_Just leave me alone!_

Tikki vanished from Marinette's view and came back with a paper tissue between her small hands.  
"Please" Tikki said softly, "Marinette, calm down a bit"

Marinette took a deep breath and her anger began to fade. She took the tissue and started to clean her face. Without all the tears in her eyes, Marinette could see the mess she made in her room.  
The ground was filled with little pieces from the photgtraphs and magazine cutouts. Some of the pieces were really small but some other were still big enough to show a green eye or a strand of blond hair.  
Marinette felt ashamed. Her tantrum had went overboad.  
So she just laid on the ground an tried to not look at the mess.  
Time went by, but Marinette couldn't say how long she had been staring at her ceiling.

Tikki came back to her "Marinette, what...what happened?" she asked hesitantly. "Why are you so angry?"  
Marinette felt the tears coming back "I'm not angry, Tikki, ...."  
Then she told her Kwami the story. It was only bit by bit and sometimes she had to stop because of her sobbing but in the end she got there. She started to feel a bit better, especially because Tikki showed real empathy.

But Tikki was as shocked as Alya. She would have never thought that Adrien would actually noz go out with Marinette.  
She really wanted to tell the girl that she will get closer to him but that was a secret she wasn't allowed to tell.  
So she said nothing instead.

After Marinette had finished her story she went to bed. She didn't go to sleep, she just stayed in her bed for the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this chapter and Marinette isn't too ooc.  
> The next chapter will go online on the 8th of April.  
> Until then, I hope y'all are social distancing and reading fanfictions ;)


	3. Inspiration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette is still depressed and the gang gets together to help...

"No one expects you to win a beaty contest, Dupain-Cheng, but couldn't you at least try to look like a human being? Or do you and your parents have to work all night so that you don't end up on the street?"

"That's enough, Chloé, you can clearly see that Marinette isn't feeling well, so maybe you could just leave her alone for a change!" Alya defended her friend.  
"Suit yourself, Césaire, maybe you coul-"

Chloés next insult was interrupted by Rose "Chloé, stop! Just be nice for once!"  
With a flip of her hair, Chloé prepared her next insult but was again interrupted.  
This time it was Mdm. Bustier who stepped into the classroom and asked for silence.

Chloé sneered at her classmates again before she dramatically turned to her seat. There she started whispering with Sabrina.  
The rest of the class simultaniously sighed. No one had wanted a Chloé Burgoisie Tamper TantrumTM this early on a monday morning.

Alya just shook her head and then gave Marinette a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.  
"Don't take that seriously, we all know that this bitc.." she coughed "That _Chloé_ is still mad about Adrien not dancing with her"  
Marinette just nodded sligthly and looked at the board. Alya knew that Marinette had endured Chloé's cruelty long before she had been part of the class, but she still expected some kind of reaction from Marinette.  
She usually still got a bit angry or just agitated by Chloé's attitude.  
But nothing today. 

Alya wanted to dig deeper for a second, but then decided not to, when she saw her friends apathetic stare. She also had to agree to Chloé, Marinette looked really bad.  
Marinette had sounded mostly fine during their call, so Alya had expected a "normal" Marinette. Instead, her friend behaved like someone who had lost their whole family in a tragic accident and didn't sleep for the last three days.

Alya wasn't the only one concerned about Marinette's mood. Her other classmates with only a few looks silently agree to help their classmate out. She had a reputation for being a happy-go-lucky persona and not being in a slump for a long time while also always helping other people. So, they wanted to return the favours to Marinette by cheering her up.  
It was also an open secret what had happened at the party. Almost the whole class had been waiting for Marinette and Adrien to get together, but the opposite happened.

Adrien was visibly uncomfortable with the situation. He seemed like he just wanted to vanish. The girls of the class silently also decided to work on that. Everyone loved having Adrien as a friend and he already had enough problems with normal social situations, so they really had to work on that.  
Long story short: they wanted to go back to how their friend group was before the party.

"Marinette, class is over, do you want to join us for lunch?" Alya tapped her friend's shoulder.  
Marinette just got up and followed the others without saying another word.

She knew herself that locking her feelings away wasn't the right way to deal with her emotions but Marinette didn't want to have another breakdown.  
Or to get akumatized.  
Which would be even worse than a public breakdown.

As always, the girls sat down on some benches for their lunch break. Following her usual habits, Marinette sat down with them but she wasn't as excited as usual for their talks. Even though the others talk about the day's gossip she felt like at some point the converstion would turn to her and the party.

Marinette just wanted to leave the topic alone.  
But she couldn't decide that alone, apparently.  
Her gut started to rumble again.

"...yea, right. We should ask Marinette about that. How far are you with the new designs." Mylene interrupted Marinette's thoughts.  
"Ivan told me, that you are doing some new ones for the upcoming music festival."

Marinette didn't meet the others' gazes. The focus was on her now and she didn't like that.  
"Yes, the new designs..." she started hesitantly.  
Rose came to her rescue "We're having a rehearsal for the new song tonight, maybe you can come over to get some inspiration."  
Marinette nodded and smiled at Rose "Yeah, I could do that maybe" "Great!" Rose said.

Marinette had to admit that she was really thankful for the gentle reminder. Because of the usual school stress and her project for Adrien's birthday she had forgotten about Kitty Section and their upcoming gig.  
"Tonight, 17 o'clock, Liberty" Juleka added. Marinette tried to channel some of her excitement for fashion and nodded energetically.  
The other girls seemed to be relieved to have the "usual" Marinette back.

"Marinette, you really should leave. The others are waiting for you" the little Kwami insisted. Tikki was still concerned about Marinettes mental well-being. Marinette had spent another afternoon doing nothing.  
"I would rather stay here, maybe I should have said that I don't have time to come." Marinette started tugging on one of her braids. Then she started climbing the ladder up to her bed again.  
Tikki tried to block her way.

"No, Marinette, you're going! Firstly, you promised your friends that you would come, you can't just let them down like that. Secondly, you're doing nothing but laying in your bed and wallowing in sorrow. So I you really should do something else than that!"

Marinette couldn't ignore the deep concern in her little friend's voice. She took a deep breath and then descended down her ladder again.  
Even though she saw no advantage from going she at least would ease Tikki's mind and she could go to bed right after.

Tikki felt relieved after this little success but she still prayed that Hawkmoth would continue his little vacation or whatever it was. Marinette was still a possible victim for an akuma. Having to fight one might be even worse for her mental state.  
The girl's gaze went up to her bed again and Tikki tried to interrupt every thought connected to "bed" and "staring at nothing"  
"If you go now, you can stay in bed for the next whole week, if you want to, but you have to meet your friends first!"

Marinette start pulling on her pigtail again and looked at her Kwami. Then she rubbed her forehead.  
"Okay, it's a deal." She stretched her body and then begun to quickly pack her few things. Tikki new that Marinette wasn't feeling as well as she acted to be.  
But maybe this little meet up would lift her spirits. She quickly flew into Marinette's bag before she left the room.

On her way to the Liberty, Marinette tried to give herself a pep talk.  
She was more or less successfull. She was aware that her behaviour hasn't been normal or healthy but a broken heart doesn't heal in a day. Marinette wanted to be happy but it was hard for her to _not_ think about Adrien.  
She was pretty sure that the reheasal was a plot by her classmates to cheer her up.

She knew that they just wanted to help but they easily went overboard with their plans. Especially when they were abput Marinette.  
She just hoped that they would tone it down because she wasn't clinically depressed or something like that. Everyone else would tell her to be happy about having friends that cared that much but she just wanted to be sad and left alone for once.

Her inner monologue was interrrupted by a loud hammering bass. She was still two blocks aways from the Seine but she could already make out Kitty Section's distinct mixture of screamo and e-guitars. 

_Today they are turning it up all the way again!_

Marinette was one of Jagged Stone's biggest fans and she generally liked louder music better than quieter but this time Kitty Section overdid it. Her ears werer already ringing when she stepped on the boat.  
She started feeling excited seeing her friends rehearsing passionately. She was a bit late so the others were already occupied with their parts.

Marinette didn't mind not being the centre of attention and looked for a seat on the boat. She found a sturdy box to sit on and got her sketch book out of her bag. The usual band meetings took a while so she thought that she would have more than enough time to sketch a new design.  
After already having designed the band's album artwork and a few costumes she knew pretty well what the band liked.

The new costumes, she was trying to desing, were for a live gig at a newcomer christmas music festival. So they had to be exceptional costumes. The first impression was important if they actually wanted to get more fans.  
As always she tried to get her inspiration from the music the band was playing. But the ideas wouldn't hit her.  
Her mind wandered away from music and costumes to another topic.

Tapping her pencil on the paper Marinette let out another deep sigh. She watched the band. Someone had missed their cue and now her friends discussed how to avoid this mistake next time. Without fighting the group continued.  
In moments like this Marinette felt deep appriciation for her friends. They were doing something together that they all enjoyed without fighting.

After several repitions of their new songs the band started to put away their instruments and equipment. Marinette realized that she hadn't drawn anything.  
No sketch. No costume.  
Nothing.

She was disappointed in herself and slammed her skech book shut. "It's so cool that you came, Marinette" Rose enthusiastically greeted Marinette.  
Marinette didn't have the energy to answer the same way "I'm sorry Rose, I didn't get anything done today, I know that we still have a lot of time but making the actual designs takes so much time...."  
"Don't let yourself down, you can't just force true art!"

Marinette wasn't the only one who had to laugh after Rose' passionate speech. "I guess you're right"  
After all the equipment was properly put away the rest of the band joined Rose and Marinette. Ivan quickly said goodbye and Luka tried to sit down next to Marinette. Rose and Juleka talked to each other for a second, only to say goodbye too.

"My parents will wory if I'm not home soon" Rose explained. Juleka added something along the lines of "dangerous alone".  
Then the two girls left the Liberty hand in hand and Marinette was alone with Luka.

Marinette's thoughts went to all her unfinished projects and wanted to grab her bag.

"See you..."

"Thanks for.."

They had started talking at the same time. Marinette mumbled an excuse and her cheeks immediately turned red.  
Luka gave her a shy smile "Sorry Marinette, you can go first."  
Marinette schook her head "No, please" she returned the offer.

"Okay....I just wanted to thank you for your help with our costumes. We would be helpless without you. I love making music but I can't draw or sew even if my life depended on it."  
"It's really no problem for me, I love doing all that" Marinette answered "Also, I alaways get to see you guys perform, so that is a win-win for me."  
"If you look at it like that, it really has now downside for us all. We all get to do what we love." 

Luka's gaze went over the Seine and back to Marinette "So, how far are your designs? Can I see them?" Luka asked while motioning towards her sketchbook. He sounded truly curious without pressuring her to actually show him the sketches.  
Some people sounded entitled when they asked to see her work, but Luka just seemed genuinely interested.

Still, Marinette didn't want to admit, that she didn't draw anything yet. Her designs were the only reason she had been invited to join the band. "Usually, I would show them to you but....but they are very...very messy and n-not really fleshed out, you wouldn't be able to make out what goes where, you know?" she tried to mumble herself out of the question.

Luka listened to her rant with his usual unreadable smile.  
Then he interrupted her "Marinette, you can be completely honest with me. If you have nothing yet that's fine. If you have something and just don't want to share it, that's fine too. I know that creativity needs time"  
Like a child who was caught lying, Marinette looked at her feet and tugged on her pigtail again.

"I'm really sorry, but your costumes will definitely be ready for your gig!"  
Luka gave her a thumbs up. "Don't worry, Marinette. I can hear that you are not feeling well at the moment. Your soulsong isn't in harmony. Take some time for yourself and once your song is playing right again, you will find inspiration for your work."

Marinette still didn't really understand what Luka meant with "Soulsong" but she already felt better. His quiet and gentle nature always made her feel comfortable around him. He was liked everywhere because of his easily likeable persona.  
"I'm just not sure how long everything will take....I don't want to dissapoint you."

Now Luka looked at her concerned "You don't need to tell me things you don't want to, Marinette, but if you need someone to talk or just some advice on something in your life, you can always talk to me." Luka's offer sounded so sincere, that Marinette was intrigued to just tell him everything.  
Marinette decided against doin that and instead thanked him for his support.

She was startled by a sudden rumbling sound.  
Now Luka was the one who looked emberassed. "After a long day and rehearsals I need some food. If you want, you can eat with us."  
Marinette looked at her phone and then declined the offer "Thank you, but my parents are probably already waiting for me. Maybe some other time."

Both got up from their seat "Then we will see each other next rehearsal right? See you then, Luka" Marinette smiled at Luka and turned to leave but Luka opened his arms for a hug.  
For a second she wanted to leave without hugging but then she decided that there was no good reason against a hug.

The gesture made her feel warm and she could have stayed like that forever. After a few seconds Luka loosened his arms and Marinette knew that she had to let go.

_Maybe he will now always hug me, when we see each other?_

Before leaving the boat she waved at Luka.  
After all the excitement, she looked forward to a quiet evening, she thought, without knowing what would happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now the actual story will finally start!  
> I hope you are as excited as I are, to see what's going to happen.  
> See you next chapter!  
> (On the 22nd)


	4. Talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette talks again but to someone else this time....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I said the story was going to start but there is a bit more talking required for that..  
> Still hope, that you enjoy this chapter with an extra special guest!

Feeling much better than during the afternoon, Marinette made her way home. She wouldn't admit it but Tikki had been right, going out helped her a lot. She didn't think about the incident while she had talked to Luka and he was the only one who did not pressure her to "get over it".  
As she arrived at the bakery, Marinette realised that her parents were going to interrogate her about the rehearsal or try to cheer her up. She let out a big sigh and prepared herself for the maximum amount of parental love.

Contrary to her intial thought, dinner went very calm. Her parents had a rough day in the bakery and still needed to prepare a big order for an upcoming event, so they were tired and didn't talk too much about anything than usual family business.  
After dinner her parents went back downstairs for a meeting about said order, while Marinette headed into her room to catch up on schoolwork. Her depressed period had also kept her from working which wouldn't be a problem if she wasn't already behind because of her superhero job.

Sitting down at her desk she saw all the shadows a certain someone's photos had left on her wall. Not wanting to fall into another slump, she reminded herself of the talks she had with Luka.  
_Maybe I can ask Rose for his number? Or I ask himself next time I see him, then I can just write or talk with him anytime...._

She really wouldn't mind a friend who didn't always try to make her do the right thing (Tikki) or try know everything about her personal life (Alya) but someone for _just_ talking.

"See, I told you going out would help!" _There it was..._  
Marinette gave her small friend something that remotely resembled a smile "Yes, Tikki, you were right. Can I now get back to work?" The Kwami crossed her arms "A thank you would be appropiate..." Tikki flew in to snuggle Marinette's cheek "but I'm just happy that you are doing better." Marinette pet Tikki's small head.  
"Thank you, but I really need to get back to work, look at all the stuff I have to do. At least Hawkmoth seems to be on a break too, otherwise I would not be able to do all of this." Tikki just nodded and flew into her small compartment to eat some sweets.  
Marinette stretched in her chair and then began digging into her homework pile. She started with Physics which she hated most in hope of being able to cross it of her list. Work went slow but she got one assignment done after the other.

She didn't pay attention to her surroundings until she heard a soft knock. "Yes, Maman?"

"I'm not you're Maman, but can I still come in" a voice from above her answered. She tried to figure out who the hell could knock on her trap door from outside and then it hit her.  
"Chat Noir?" "Yes...can I come in?"  
Marinette thought about it for a second, she still had some work to do but to be honest with herself she started feeling exhausted. She wasn't really in the mood to talk to the flirtatious alley cat but she hadn't seen him in a while and he sounded a bit sad....

"Yes, one second" she got up and opened the trap door. Outside stood the black cat hero. His ears were turned down and he didn't have a wide grin on his face, which was unusual. When he saw her his whole body shifted to his usual appearance.  
Marinette had a feeling that his grin was just a mask this time.

He jumped into her room with one smooth motion and just stood there until Marinette offered him a seat on her chaise lounge. She grapped her chair to sit down in front of. Even though he wasn't too bad with other people, she didn't want him to get touchy with her.  
She just did not feel like it.

She sat down on her chair the wrong way around so that she could put her arms and hand on the backrest. For a moment none of them said something.

"Sooooo..what brings you to me tonight, Chat?" there it was again, that sad look on his face "I ...I kind of need someon to talk to"  
She raised an eyebrow. Marinette had always thought that with his personality Chat would be drowning in friends. She wondered for a second why he didn't talk to her as Ladybug. _Because I haven't been around the last few days_ , she reminded herself.

"But only if you are fine with that, I don't want to bother you!" he immediately tried to get up again. Marinette motioned him to sit down again.  
"No, it's fine, you can talk to me....It's just..I had a few crazy days, so I might no be the best listener today, but I can definetly try" The look on Chat's face turned into relieve.  
"Really, that's great, you are the best, Marinette!" she blushed a little because of his compliment.  
"Go ahead" Chat shifted in his seat to find a more comfortable position until he decided to just lay down on his stomach with his head resting on the armrest.  
"Okay, so just like you, I had a few very, very crazy days." He looked at her like he was expecting some kind of reaction.  
Marinette just "Hmmd" and that was enough for him. After this it would have been impossible to stop him from telling his story.

"It started on saturday, I ...I went to a party and there was this girl, who I am friends with. We actually have been friends for a few years now. Anyways, she gives...um, she talks to me and turns out: She is in love with me. Don't get me wrong, I really like her but everyone knows that I love Ladybug, right?" He didn't even stop to wait for Marinette's answer. _He must be really agitated..._  
"I mean, yea, this girl only knows me as Ad.... I mean, she doesn't know that I'm Chat Noir, so she can't know that I love Ladybug. So instead of that I just tell her, that I am in love with someone else and she just runs off. I at least wanted to talk to her about it, but I guess she hates me now, even though I really like her, like, as a friend. But that was only the beginning, right."

Marinette couldn't really follow his storytelling, it was all over the place, but she also could not stop him.

"So I guess, one of my friends hates me now, so I try to ask my other friends about it but either they want to stay out of Drama or are 'on her side' whatever that is supposed to mean. Then on sunday it turns out that my father is sick and suddenly has time to talk to me, which results in some really boring talks and a big fight about my future. Because of that I kind of don't want to be at home right. And also Ladybug wasn't around for the last few days, so I don't know what that is about..."  
Chat looked up at Marinette "So that is, what's bothering me..."  
He saw her suprised face "I'm sorry, I didn't want to dump all that on you!" Marinette shook her head "No, it's fine...I just didn't expect you to have that much going on at the moment"

He turned around and stared at her ceiling "Yeah it is a lot, that's why I'm here. To talk to someone about it" For a moment they didn't talk and just followed their own thoughts. Then Marinette started talking "So, do you want any advice on anything or was I just supposed to listen?"  
Chat hastily sat up and leaned forward "Please give me some advice, if you can. I really don't know how to handle anything."

Marinette started to spin her chair around to get some time to think about what she just heard. Facing Chat, she came to a stop.  
"First things first, about this girl. I'm not an expert and can only say what would work for me but if you really want to clear things up talk to her. Try to talk to her but don't push her, make sure that her friends are not around that could ruin everything for both of you. Be clear about your thoughts and intentions, don't lead her on or force yourself to love her, okay?"  
He nodded.  
"If it was me, I would be very hesitant to talk to you so be gentle, maybe try with just greeting her from time to time. If you really want to, ask her to talk to you immediately but that could backfire. Depends on the girl really."

She pulled on her pigtail "About your father, I'm not really sure. It sounds like you both need some time to cool down and think about it. I can't really how you should approach this one, I guess your father sees himself in the right the same way you do."

Chat nodded to everything Marinette said and now leaned back on the chaise. "Thanks, Marinette, that really helped me to get my thoughts sorted out." He faked another smile. Marinette smiled back, happy that someone else could get the help they needed. Chat looked around her room for a moment and the suddenly pointed at Marinette 

"You! What about you, what happened the last few days?"

Marinette nearly fell out of her chair at the sudden motion "Ah, Chat, it's fine really, I already talked to someone about it."  
She tried to avoid the question because she did not really want to share the details of her non existent love live with this alley cat.  
"You don't have to tell me the details, but I thought it would be about the boy whose face used to plaster your walls." Chat Noir gave Marinette his trademark smirk.  
She frowned.  
"I'm just over him, that's all. It's nice that you wanted to share the details of your life with me but at the moment I don't really want to that." His shoulders started to slump so Marinette tried to save the mood somehow "Look, it's nothing personal, I just need a bit longer to sort everything out. But thanks for offering to listen to me"

She tried her own trademarked 'I'm here to save the day' -smile but Chat still looked disappointed. Marinette already knew how the next few minutes would turn out from her many years with Alya.  
She took a deep breath and then told Chat a very condensed version of her own story.

"Okay, so I went to this birthday party and I knew the guy from the photos and that I was in love with for too long was going to be there. Naturally I planned a way to tell him that, encouraged by my lovely best friends who was 100% sure that he 'is totally head over heels' for me. The time comes, I tell him and surprise! He is in love with another girl. All my friends are more shocked and devastated than me and try to still get their ship sailing. But as far as I am concerned: one Heartbreak is more than enough." Towards the end Marinette's speech also became more passionate.  
After she finished she saw Chat's green eyes looking at her and curious for her story.

A bit uncomfortable with the situation again, Marinette starts to swing her chair from side to side.  
"Wow that sounds horrible..." Chat sounded truly concerned.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was that serious..I..I thought you just had a crush on...on that guy"

Marinette grunted, trying to suppress the tears "It was really more than that but now it's over..." She turned aorund only to see the time on her clock "Oh, it is already that late? Sorry, Chat you need to leave now, I have to go to school tomorow."  
Marinette quickly got out of her chair and put it in its original place.

Chat snuggled himself into her chaise "Can't I just stay for this one night? I really don't want to go home"  
Marinette put her fists onto her hips "But your dad will worry if you don't come ho-" "My father won't even know that I was gone until I come back, because I snuck out."  
Marinette nearly dropped her phone because of the anger in Chat's voice "Sorry, I didn't want to blow up on you" he said in a softer voice.  
He got up from the chaise "I guess I better get going..." Marinette grabbed his arm "Promise me that you are not sleeping on the street tonight" He avoided her eyes.

"Chat, can you promise me to not sleep outside tonight?" Marinette also tried a more gentle tone.  
"I can't promise you that"  
"You know that I can't accept that" she looked at him for another second."Well, I guess one night is fine."

His whole body seemed to shoot up "Really?! You're the best Marinette!" He squeezed her in a tight hug.  
Marinette patted his shoulder and gently pried her way out of his arms.  
"But there are some conditions, okay?"  
Chat nodded like a small boy that was about to get his favourite candy  
"Firstly, you sleep on the chaise and stay there. I don't want you even near my bed" She really needed some distance from boys in general... "Secondly, we are really going to sleep, no sleepover shenanigans, I have school tomorrow."  
Again an eager nod  
"And lastly, you have to leave immediately tommorow morning when I get up, I don't want another Weredad."  
More especially eager nods.

She sighed. "Okay, I'm going to use the bathroom and get ready for bed."  
Marinette turned around to her clothing cabinet. She got a fuzzy blanket from one of the drawers and handed it to Chat.  
"You can use this, so you don't get cold."

She went to open the trapdoor "Thanks again, Marinette"  
She couldn't say why exactly but she was a little bit happy about having (his) company.

"No problem, Chat"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for today!  
> See you next time on the May 6th!


	5. Running

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette tries to have a normal day...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I decided that it is time to finally get some action in this story after all the drama.  
> So here it comes!  
> I hope you like it :)

Marinette was awakened by her phone's alarm. She rolled over and hit snooze to get 5 minutes more. Usually 5 minutes turned into half an hour until her mom came up and shushed her to school but she didn't . As usual, she dozed off again.

She was snuggling deeper into her sheets when she felt the mattress sinking down at her feet. With her mind still fogged up by sleep she just rolled over and forgot about it.  
She heard a clicking sound like something was unlocked and then fell back asleep.

The next time she woke up, her was mother calling her. Marinette nearly fell out of bed and started getting ready for her day at school. Her sleepy mind got confused by the folded blanket on her chaise lounge.  
She tried to remember why it was there while her hair putting in pigtails.  
Then the events of the last two days caught up to her. But she did not feel sad for once. She was just _normal_.  
A good night's sleep had already helped her a lot.  
She would never admit it to Chat Noir but venting to him had helped a lot. She generally didn't feel as anxious as she did the days before. She didn't dread going to school that much.  
_I'll be fine_ she told herself a few times.

With something resembling a good mood, Marinette ate breakfast and went to school.  
For once in a while, she was on time. Her thoughts had kept her from dozing off while eating breakfast and so she arrived five minutes before the teacher. Alya gave her a surprised look when she walked into the classroom.

"Girl, is this a dream? Or a movie? You are on time!" Marinette already wasn't in the mood for teasing so she just hugged her friend instead.  
"Thanks to Maman it sometimes does happen.." Both girls sat down and waited for the lesson to begin.

The classroom filled up with more students, most of time greeted Marinette and Alya as they always did. The last ones to arrive where Nino and Adrien. They went straight for their seats, too, because the teacher was coming in right after them.  
Nino whsipered a small "Good morning" to the girls. He got two smiles in return and then focused on the lesson.

Adrien also turned around to say something but immediately flinched back.  
Marinette looked at Alya but her friend gave her an innocent look. For a moment Marinette wondered what Adrien was going to say.  
_Maybe he just wants to talk..._

She tried to steer her thoughts back to the class. But it was hard to concetrate when his blonde head was just in front of her.  
Maybe he really waned to talk to her, she hadn't given him this chance at his party. But she wasn't ready for that yet.  
He would have to wait.  
Right before their break, a small paper note landed on her notebook. Marinette immediately recognized the neat cursive her name was written in. Again she was torn between her old feelings and her new desire to get over them.

She threw away the note.  
Marinette didn't tell anyone about that. She didn't want to hear talks about how she should at least listen to him and how that would make her feel better.  
Same as a day before she just wanted to deal with her issue alone. For now at least.  
Marinette also decided to try and avoid Adrien for a while. Talking to him would mean to be honest and she didn't know for sure if she would be able to do that.

During the break, Marinette already felt relaxed. Sitting with the other girls was safe and easy. She just tried to follow the conversation and play her part of a happy girl with her friends. The topics switched from school gossip to class gossip and suddenly she was caught in a crossfire of questions about Luka.  
"What did you two talk about?" asked Rose.  
Alya's eyes shot to her friend. "You two? Marinette, is there something you forgot to tell me about?"  
Marinette rolled her eyes "I didn't know that you were my diary, Alya"  
"Oh you finally grew some claws, girl" Alya laughed "But seriously, what happened?"

The girls were all waiting for Marinette to say something "Nothing really, Luka and I just talked about the costumes and our projects and that's it."  
She didn't understand why they were that interested in her again. She had just talked to a friend.

Alya raised her eyebrow "You really need to give us everytging, I mean no one thought that you would be on the hunt for someone else already" Marinette was confused.  
"On the hunt...?" "Y'know..."Alya tried to explain "Trying to find some new boyfriend material"  
Realization hit Marinette. Hard.  
"Oh..no no no! Luka just gave me some art advice. I originally had planned to immediately leave, but he had some questions I didn't want to leave unanswered"  
Marinette didn't want to be the centre of attention so she tried to change the subject "So, how far are you guys with the physics homework?"  
Her request for less spicy topics was accepted. The gossip went on for another while.

"We should do a girls' afternoon!" Alya suggested.

Rose, Juleka and Mylene were immediately interested. Marinette wasn't sure if she wanted to participate. _There will be more talk about boys..._  
The others were already throwing some ideas around when they were interrupted by Nino and Adrien.  
They boys greeted everyone and looked for playces to sit. Nino sat down next to Alya. Adrien just stood next to him and gave everyone a small wave.

Marinette immediately turned away and got up "I'm going to go real quick" she said while motioning towards the bathroom. The other girls didn't pay her much attention but she didn't mind much.

After she was done, the boys had already left. Marinette was relieved. She knew that she couldn't avoid Adrien forever but for now it was her way dealing with things.  
The girls were still planning their afternoon and Marinette decided to agree joining them. If she didn't want to go she could just make up an excuse as always.

She didn't like lying and never really did it when she was younger but as Ladybug she grew accustomed to it. There was a difference between making up excuses because of her superhero identity and lying to her friends because she didn't want to go out but at the moment she didn't care about that. For once in her life Marinette valued her own well-being over the feelings of others. And it wasn't like she was actively harming someone.

The others, especially Alya and Rose, were excited for Marinette to join. They decided to meet at Rose' place and do some face masks "because they cleanse you're face and mind", if you want to believe her. Marinette agreed to bring some sweets from her parents' bakery after Alya begged her with big puppy eyes.

The rest of the school day went by without anything else happening.

Tired but actually content with how her day went (Adrien free), Marinette went home.  
She took a detour to check out a small fabrics store she had discovered the other day. Halfway back home her phone's akuma alert went off. Marinette didn't really want to be Ladybug at the moment, it meant that she had to be strong and confident which she wasn't. But leaving Chat alone also wasn't an option. She was arguing with herself for a second.  
Her sense of responsibility won and Marinette started looking for a place to transform.

"Marinette!" someone shouted. Then a hand grabbed her arm. "We need to hide!"  
She saw someone with blue hair run in front oh her. "Luka!"  
"Come on, we need to go!"  
Marinette gently tried to free herself "Eh..it-it's fine! My parents bakery isn't to far I can hide there"

"No, you won't have enough time!" They tunred a corner into a small alley "This should be good enough" Luka found a spot between two big dumpsters.  
"The Akuma shouldn't be able to find us here"

_He is right, this would be a perfect transformation spot..._

No this was a dilemma Marinette usually tried to avoid. And even though she found some reasonable explanations for to leave ("I lost my bag" "You can get it once Ladybug fixed everything", "I need to check on my parents" "They'll be fine, Ladybug and Chat Noir will save everyone") Luka wouldn't let her leave.

It was nice that he was so concerned with her safety but without her superhero alter-ego no one would save the day. The only way to get out of this was the Akuma attacking them both or another kind of distraction.  
Marinette started to wreck her brain for a solution. As Ladybug she could always come up with great ideas, now it was time to do that as Marinette.

An explosion rumbled through the streets and threw them both off balance. Luka staggered away from her and Marinette slid out into the alley. She tried to run fast as possible, she could still hear Luka looking for her.  
She ran thorugh several streets and alleys, alsways running around corners and zig-zagging through small crowds. Marinette found a good hiding spot and listened if Luka was still after her.

Nothing.  
Then another explosion.  
She flinched and then stood up straight again.

"Tikki, spots on!"

Ladybug used her jo-jo to get on the roof and get an idea of what's going on. Her jo-jo also showed her 5 missed calls from Chat Noir.  
Even though there had been several explosions she couldn't make out where they came from so she called Chat back.

"Ladybug? Oh thank God, you're finally here, I really missed you!" Ladybug rolled her eyes  
"Chat, just tell me what's going on and I'll get to you"  
"Yes, right, the akuma. So, as far as I can tell, the Akuma makes explosions happen."

Laydbug waited for more information "That's it?" she asked.  
"Well, I'm sorry, I was busy to not getting blown up so I kinda didn't have time to figure out what happened to the person, that's usually you're job."  
"Sorry, Chat, you're right" She then asked for his location and tried to get there.  
She followed her GPS for a few blocks until she could make out the source of the explosions herself.  
The Akuma lit up the Parisian sky in red and yellow and covered the rooftops with grey ashes.

A black figure was thrown away from the Akum and towards Ladybug. Chat Noir landed in front of Ladybug's feet. She bent down and offered him her hand "I thought cats always landed on their feet". Chat took her hand and got up "Well, Bggaboo, not when they get swept off their feet" he answered with a smug grin.

"So, did you figure out something new about the Akuma?"  
"Sadly, I didn't, Buggaboo"  
"Then let's get a closer look"  
"Whatever you say, m'lady"

They moved closer towards the Akuma and hid behind a chimney as they didn't want to be the target for the next explosion.  
The Akuma looked like it had been dipped in several different colours and textures of chemicals. The clothes moved and swirled like water and when some colours met a small explosion happened. For the big explosions the Akuma would gather two or more chemicals in their hand and shot them off.  
Over the sound of everything it was hard to understand the Akuma but as far as Ladybug could understand they were cursing their professor who hadn't accepted the Akuma's chemical research.

"I guess his interest in chemics was an explosive mixture" Chat winked at Ladybug.  
She sighed but then got back to business.  
She wanted to get rid of the Akuma now as fast as possible after already losing so much time. Quickly she and Chat formed a plan and engaged in the fight.

It didn't go smoothly. Chat's reactions were slow and misplaced which led to both of them getting blasted several times. Because of that Ladybug became irritated and impatient. The fight got messy.

Ladybug started cursing and Chat tried to motivate her again "Oh, I thought I was the only who is able to sweep you off your feet".  
It didn't sound as honest and flirty as always. At this point Ladybug started feeling more exhausted and also concerned for her partner. He usually kept the fight light-hearted and fun.  
Today he seemed to be tired and sad.

After a while they figured out the akumatized item, it was a research paper in the explosion hand, as Chat called it. They agreed to use the usual distraction, so that Ladybug could get close to the akumatized item and defeat the Akuma.

After that was, Ladybug turned everything back normal and turned around to leave but was stopped by her partner.

"Ladybug, can...can we talk for a bit?" He sounded truly sad. After the honest talk she had with him as Marinette she knew that he had been going through some things so she agreed.  
They sat down on an empty rooftop "So, what is it?" Ladybug asked.  
"Well.." he looked around "I guess I just need someone to talk to"  
"Just talking?"  
"Yeah...there are some things going in on in my life that I can't really talk about with other people so I thought, because we are partners and everything, that you might listen to me. And I thought that maybe you could give me some advice..."

Ladybug felt like she already knew what was coming next.  
_I need to give him a different answer this time!_

She smiled at him "Yes, go ahead, we need to support each other"  
His face lit up "Great! Okay, so there is this girl, we usually talk at school but something happened and now she seems to avoid me. I know that after what happened she might not like me that much anymore but I just want her to tell me herself...Any idea how I could get her to talk to me?"

Ladybug thought a second before she answered "Well, I don't know what exactly happend and how long ago it was but because you came to me now I guess it is pretty fresh. Maybe she needs some time to figure out what she thinks. You could ask a friend you both share for help. Or just wait a bit longer"  
"Oh okay" Chat didn't seem like this was the answer he had wanted to hear.  
His ring beeped "Well, I gotta go. See you, princess" And with that he went off the roof.

Ladybug also left and detransformed in an alley close to home.  
The Parisians had returned to their normal habits so the streets were buzzing with busy people again. Marinette wasn't really paying attention to the people around her, she was trying to find a reason to not meet her friends and get home to sleep after the fight.

"Marinette!" She was thrown off her rythm and fell over her own feet. Someone caught her before she hit the ground.

"Marinette, do you have a minute?" She looked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might have realised, I'm not that good with action scenes, but I will try to get better at that (and writing in general lol)
> 
> I'm sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger but because of the current situation my life became more stressful and I can't always find the motivation to continue writing. I will try but I can't promise to upload on schedule, it might take a while for me to write the next chapter. I'm also not really sure where I want to go with this story so that makes it even harder to continue.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all stay safe and healthy!


	6. Direct Message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette walks home and Adrien uses social Media....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!  
> This chapter only exists thanks to your encouraging comments (looking @ you MalcolmReynolds), and GRLwood's super cool and exciting music which got my motivation back on track.
> 
> Clarification: Chat Noir uses the nickname "Princess" for both Marinette and LB because I'm a sucker for this name lol  
> So, no he doesn't know her identity (A reveal is gonna happen sometime but probably more to the end of this story)  
> This chapter is a bit shorter than usual but I still want to upload something, so here it is :)

"Marinette!" She was thrown off her rythm and fell over her own feet. Someone caught her before she hit the ground.  
"Marinette, do you have a minute?" She looked up.

_Adrien!_

"Uhm...I..the Akuma...home..my parents...you know?" she stumbled over her words like she stumbled over her feet. Adrien looked at her curiously "I can go home with you, if you don't feel well"  
Marinette began to feel stressed. She had done everything to avoid him for that day and now he had found her right after an Akuma attack. She took a few deep breaths while Adrien still waited for her answer.

"No, thank you, I can go home myself" Both were surprised that she said this without stuttering. Marinette wanted to use this moment to flee, but Adrien held her back by her arm. "Please, Marinette, can we talk for a minute?" he looked close to being desperate.

"I-I'm sorry Adrien...I need to go home, my parents will worry if I don't go now." She tried to avoid his eyes while speaking.  
He didn't let go of her arm.

"But....can we talk tomorrow? At school?" Adrien asked her.  
She wanted to say no. Marinette wasn't ready for that kind of conversation but she also didn't want to hurt him.  
She avoided his question "Can you please let go of me?" He looked hurt "Can you at least answer my question first? I really want to talk to you and not get everything second hand from Alya"  
Now Marinette felt insulted "But maybe I don't want to tell you first-hand!" she answered with a stern voice.

"Marinette? Adrien? What's going on?" Both snapped around to see someon approaching them.

"Luka!" Marinette exclaimed "Nothing" In the second Adrien was distracted she freed her arm from his grip. "I was looking for you the whole time, you shouldn't run off like that" he said.  
"I'm sorry, really needed to check on my parents..." she used her easiest lie. Luka gave her a confused look  
"But we are father away from the bakery then we were before, aren't we?"  
"Oh, are we" Marinette laughed awkwardly "I must have gone the wrong way because of the explosions" Luka didn't seem fully convinced but turned to Adrien "Do you have a problem with Marinette or can she leave?" Even though Luka was known to be calm and friendly, he sounded more serious than usually.

Adrien took a step back and crossed his arms in front of his chest "I just wanted to talk to her, but I guess, I will have to do that some other time. See you tomorrow, Marinette" Adrien turned to leave, then he looked back another time before he finally turned around the corner.

"Sorry again, Luka, I didn't want you to worry" she pulled on her pigtail "It's no problem, you didn't get hurt, right?" Now he was smiling again. "Yeah, I'm fine" his smile was contagious and Marinette was happy to be out of that awkward situation with Adrien.  
"Can I walk you home?" he asked and offered her his arm like an old-fashioned gentleman. Now Marinette had to giggle "Yes, thank you!"

They walked the few blocks to the bakery. They didn't talk until they were in front of the shop's door.

"Thanks for walking me home" Marinette said. It was nice a gesture but hopefully that wouldn't happen too often. She didn't like to lie because someone tries to protect her.  
"No problem, Marinette, I'm just happy that you are safe." She felt emberassed by the attention he gave her and turned to the door. "Well, see you then" she first wanted to wave but then deciced to give Luka a thank you-hug. It felt as nice as his hug on the Liberty and she wanted to stay. Then Luka gently wriggled out of her arms "I think you're parents are watching..." Red-faced, Marinette jumped away from Luka.

"Really...then I better get going before they try to check on us" Luka waved "Bye then"  
Marinette watched him leaving. Then she tried to get rid of the redness and went inside.

"Marinette, did anything happen to you? Did that boy help you?" her father asked her, as worried as always after an Akuma Attack. "Oh, I'm fine, papa. That's Luka, he is also part of Kitty Section. I met him a few blocks away and he walked me home." "Well, that's nice of him, to protect my little girl." Marinette rolled her eyes "Papa, I've been dealing with Akuma Attacks long before I knew him and I have always been fine."  
Tom went around the counter and hugged Marinette "But maybe someday a boy is going to snatch you away from me, he should at least be nice" Marinette giggled "Papa, no one is going to snatche me away."

Sabine came out of the back room "Oh, really, I thought that boy there seemed really nice" Marinette started to get annoyed "He's a friend, maman" then she made her way upstairs.  
"Are you still going to Alya's" her mother asked her. "I'm calling her in a minute. I'll tell you after that." Marinette shouted back downstairs.

She sat down on her chaise and waited for Alya's call. Marinette knew that it wouldn't make sense to dial her friend's number right now, she was probably still working on her new post for the Ladyblog. Alya always called when she was done to tell Marinette the news.  
A few minutes later Marinette's phone rang and she answered the call. "Hi Alya" "Hi Marinette, you wont believe it but I got the best pictures today! Some other journalists already asked me to sell them some but I refused. I work hard for these babies..." Then she went on and on about the Akuma Attack. It worried Marinette that Alya had realised that Ladybug had been extremely late. Alya also posted, as always, where and when Ladybug had vanished and appeared. These were the clues she collected to find out who was behind the mask.

After some time her friend finally got back to the normal topics "So, are you coming? We still want to do a girls' night"  
Marinette supressed a sigh.  
_So the attack wasn't a dependable excuse this time._

She grabbed her bag and started to get ready to meet the other girls.

A few streets away, Adrien was walking home.

He held his head low and dug his hands deep into his jackets' pockets. He wasn't sure if he had done something wrong and it was slowly getting to him. At his birthday party he had been taken by surprise. Adrien had then realised how oblivious he had been towards his classmate. As slow as always, he had reacted too late and now Marinette was avoiding him.  
Adrien experiences with girls being interested in him was reduced to Chloe and other models liking him because of his good looks. He was also used to these girls being overly flirty and obvious with their affections. Adrien never had developed the social abilities to detect hints like Marinette's blushing and constant stuttering.  
In hindsight he shouldn't have been that surprised on his birthday. All the jokes and weird hints Nino had made troughout the years, all the times Nino had left Adrien alone with Marinette...By the reaction of his class, he deducted that everyone had known of Marinette's crush except himself.

He sighed. Suddenly, there were so many 'ifs' in his head. If he had known before hand...if he had reacted differently...if Chloe hadn't intervened...if he got over his unrequited love for Laybug..

Adrien arrived home and was greeted by Natalie. _as always_

"Adrien, you know that you're supposed to call, when there's an attack. You're father was worried." "Sorry, Natalie, next time I will try to remember that, when running through town" he walked past her and rolled his eyes. Then he stopped "How is he doing?" Even though he wasn't particularly close with his father, he still had worried. Apparently, it was a very bad pneumonia, and the worst had already passed but Adrien knew that his father would try to hide any signs of his sickness. "He is doing good, as always" Natalie answered his question "but he wants you to know that he won't be attending dinner with you"

Adrien nodded slowly and then continued his way upstairs. He shouldn't be surprised by this too. After arriving in his room he let himself fall on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

Then Plagg came zooming out of Adrien's shirt "Oh please don't be depressed again" he complained. "Well, Plagg, life isn't going great at the moment" "Oh please" the kwami crossed his arms "just because pigtails isn't talking to you! Girls do that all the time. After a few more days she will be back to normal" "Plagg, you're not helping! I talked to everyone that I know and no one could give me advice that actually works"

Plagg went to his cheese cabinet "Well, if problems could always easily be solved there would be no need for kwamis or superheroes but here we are"

Adrien had to admit that for once that Plagg was right. With his camembert in his hands, Plagg joined Adrien again "Kid, I really mean it, just let the situation cool down for a few days. Don't force it. I mean, try to imagine how you would feel if Ladybug told you, she was in love with someone else. You're world would probably end ....Well that's propably because you're overdramatic.."Plagg continued to talk to himself. Meanwhile, Adrien thought about Plagg's comments.

What would it be like if Ladybug told him something like this. His mood instantly got worse. _Well, I guess that proves his point_

He got up to distract himsel from his thoughts and started his computer. He hadn't checked his social media for a while so that's what he did. Scrolling through his feed with his private acoount he found himself tagged in a picture. He followed the link to a Kitty Section post where he was mentioned as writer of a song. As always, he left a like and typed a short comment. He glanced at the photo again and then took a closer look. he knew most of the band members because they were in his class but he didn't immediately recognize one boy. Then he realized that it was Luka. They had only met two or three times now. Adrien had always thought that Luka was a chill person. But Adrien didn't know what to make of the incident ealier that day. Luka had seemed a bit off but Adrien couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was.

Adrien also didn't like leaving a bad impression so he decided to message Luka. He wanted to make clear that it had been a misunderstanding between him and Marinette. For a moment he tried to figure out which was the best way to message Luka and then decided to use a messaging App. Because of the few times he had joined the band, he had everyone's numbers.

Adrien looked at the empty chat and the started typing a message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have to admit that the story already strayed away from my original plan even though I'm only in 13k. That means that I'm figuring out the whole story while writing so that might lead to some inaccuracies here and there but I try to avoid them.  
> It also could take me longer to write, as mentioned last time, or the chapters might get shorter in the long run, we'll see.  
> I also love seeing your comments and ideas, so keep on posting! (Ik it sounds like I'm begging for clout but it's true)  
> Well, if everything goes smoothly, the next chapter will be up on the 3rd of June,  
> See you then!
> 
> Edit 03.06.2020: I'm sorry, but I don't think I can continue writing this story right now. I don't feel happy with what I'm typing anymore and I just don't want you to read something that I wouldn't want to read myself. In the beginning I had the goal to finish the story but I'm not sure I that's going to happen.  
> I'm not abandoning this story jet, but I will go on hiatus for now (I don't know for how long) and maybe come back with more content. I hope that I might work better without a schedule or the pressure of regular uploads.  
> Stay safe everyone and continue reading!


	7. [Update]

Hi guys!  
It's been a while and you might have already guessed, but this story is probably not gonna get any more updates.  
I'm sorry for that.  
I started this story really motivated half a year ago but I can't seem to finish it. I just overstimated myself and my writing skills.  
I hate to not finish things, but I'm not getting anywhere with this.  
I don't want to give you false expectations that this story is ever going to be continued. It might be but I don't really believe that myself. I guess that I will stick to One-Shots mostly (like "Lost for words").

Still, I want to thank everyone that read this story. I hope you enjoyed it!  
Stay safe and healthy!  
Lims


End file.
